Few women today would trade places with the ‘50s woman and mother, the one fervently idealized by so-called "pro-family" groups. In the ‘50s, women didn't approach parity with men in education and – guess what – their housework time was constant, despite having new "time-saving" technologies. This era, in which birth rates soared, doubled the time devoted to child care. And with women assigned to endless tasks of the home, men shouldered the full responsibility of supporting the family economically. One dire consequence was that one in four Americans in the mid-1950s lived in poverty. By the end of the 1950s, one in three American children lived in poverty. Not surprisingly, researchers in the ‘50s found less than one in three married couples reported being happy or very happy with their relationship. Compare today, when 61 percent of married Americans report themselves to be "very happy" in their marriage. Part of the sour spouse problem of the ‘50s was that many couples didn't really want to be married to each other. Often, they were trapped into marriage by unintended pregnancy. With no sex-ed, no birth control, no legal abortion - the exact legislative agenda of today's pro-life movement! -teen birth rates soared, reaching highs that have not been equaled since: there were twice as many teen mothers in the ‘50s than today.

Postponing or planning marriage and children has allowed women to get a foothold in the workforce, and this has led to important benefits: They have made their families wealthier. Today, the rate of poverty is half what it was in the 1950s. In fact, now if a husband is the sole breadwinner, the family is four times more likely to be poor than one in which the wife brings home an income too. Dual income homes earn nearly two-thirds more than that of families in which only the husband works. Consequently, the percentage of children living in poverty has decreased 50 percent since 1959. Money may not be everything. But it's something.

Husbands count on their wives to bring home a significant share of the family wealth now; nearly one in four women now earn more than their husbands. With this, men have options to leave a negative work environment, change careers, take more career risks and be more involved – indeed better – fathers than ever before. You'd never know this if you listened to the so-called 'pro-family' groups set on convincing us that the way we live now is tearing our country apart. Because of the pro-choice movement's efforts, we now have a true "Family Man," the very one the right wing seems to still be looking for.

With the religious right's intensifying attacks against family planning, men have as much at stake as women, if not more. A University of Michigan study found that children's time with their fathers increased significantly only in families in which the mother worked outside the home. Fathers today spend much more time with their children than ‘50s fathers — a difference of more than one hour each day. And most, by the way, are aware of this difference. Eighty-four percent report that they spend more time with their kids and get more joy out of fatherhood than their fathers did.

The vast majority of men, 72 percent, say they would sacrifice pay and job opportunities for more time with their families. Dads today are even more affectionate with their children: 60 percent hug their school-aged kids every day and 79 percent of fathers tell their children they love them several times a week. James Levine, who heads the Fatherhood Project, says that "Children whose fathers are involved with them show better education achievement, fewer problems in school, and they're better off socially."

So much for the break up of the family caused by sexual liberation and pro-choice, pro-birth control movement. Just the opposite is true. The family is more financially secure and more enjoyed than ever before. And what better family value is there than valuing family?